<div class="hatnote">"Obama" redirects here. For his father, see <a href="/wiki/Barack_Obama,_Sr." title="Barack Obama, Sr.">Barack Obama, Sr.</a>. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Obama_(disambiguation)" title="Obama (disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig">Obama (disambiguation)</a>.</div>
<table class="infobox vcard" style="width: 22em;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" class="n" style="text-align: center; font-size: 132%;"><span class="fn">Barack Obama</span></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center"><a href="/wiki/File:President_Barack_Obama.jpg" class="image"><img alt="President Barack Obama.jpg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/President_Barack_Obama.jpg/220px-President_Barack_Obama.jpg" width="220" height="275" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/President_Barack_Obama.jpg/330px-President_Barack_Obama.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/President_Barack_Obama.jpg/440px-President_Barack_Obama.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2687" data-file-height="3356" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background-color: lavender; text-align: center"><a href="/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States" title="List of Presidents of the United States">44th</a> <a href="/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States">President of the United States</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background-color: lavender"><b><a href="/wiki/Incumbent" title="Incumbent">Incumbent</a></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center"><span class="nowrap"><b>Assumed office</b></span><br />
January 20, 2009</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;"><span class="nowrap">Vice President</span></th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Joe_Biden" title="Joe Biden">Joe Biden</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;"><span class="nowrap">Preceded by</span></th>
<td><a href="/wiki/George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background-color: lavender; text-align: center"><a href="/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate">United States Senator</a><br />
from <a href="/wiki/Illinois" title="Illinois">Illinois</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="border-bottom:none; text-align:center"><span class="nowrap"><b>In office</b></span><br />
January 3, 2005&#160;– November 16, 2008</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;"><span class="nowrap">Preceded by</span></th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Peter_Fitzgerald_(politician)" title="Peter Fitzgerald (politician)">Peter Fitzgerald</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;"><span class="nowrap">Succeeded by</span></th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Roland_Burris" title="Roland Burris">Roland Burris</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background-color: lavender; text-align: center">Member of the <a href="/wiki/Illinois_Senate" title="Illinois Senate">Illinois Senate</a><br />
from the 13th district</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="border-bottom:none; text-align:center"><span class="nowrap"><b>In office</b></span><br />
January 8, 1997&#160;– November 4, 2004</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;"><span class="nowrap">Preceded by</span></th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Alice_Palmer_(politician)" title="Alice Palmer (politician)">Alice Palmer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;"><span class="nowrap">Succeeded by</span></th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Kwame_Raoul" title="Kwame Raoul">Kwame Raoul</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background-color: lavender; text-align: center">Personal details</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Born</th>
<td><span class="nickname">Barack Hussein Obama II</span><br />
<span style="display:none">(<span class="bday">1961-08-04</span>)</span> August 4, 1961 <span class="noprint ForceAgeToShow">(age&#160;53)</span><br />
<a href="/wiki/Honolulu" title="Honolulu">Honolulu</a>, <a href="/wiki/Hawaii" title="Hawaii">Hawaii</a>, U.S.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Political party</th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democratic</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Spouse(s)</th>
<td><span><a href="/wiki/Michelle_Obama" title="Michelle Obama">Michelle Obama</a>&#160;(<abbr title="married">m.</abbr>&#160;<abbr title="October 3, 1992">1992</abbr>)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Children</th>
<td>Malia Obama <small style="font-size:85%;">(daughter)</small><br />
Sasha Obama <small style="font-size:85%;">(daughter)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Residence</th>
<td class="label"><a href="/wiki/White_House" title="White House">White House</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Education</th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Punahou_School" title="Punahou School">Punahou School</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Alma_mater" title="Alma mater">Alma mater</a></th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Occidental_College" title="Occidental College">Occidental College</a><br />
<a href="/wiki/Columbia_University" title="Columbia University">Columbia University</a> <small>(B.A.)</small><br />
<a href="/wiki/Harvard_Law_School" title="Harvard Law School">Harvard Law School</a> <small>(J.D.)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Religion</th>
<td><a href="/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christianity</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Signature</th>
<td><a href="/wiki/File:Barack_Obama_signature.svg" class="image" title="Barack Obama's signature"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Barack_Obama_signature.svg/128px-Barack_Obama_signature.svg.png" width="128" height="31" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Barack_Obama_signature.svg/192px-Barack_Obama_signature.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Barack_Obama_signature.svg/256px-Barack_Obama_signature.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="182" data-file-height="44" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Website</th>
<td><span class="url"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://barackobama.com">barackobama<wbr />.com</a></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox vcard" style="width: 22em; border: 4px double #d69d36; padding:0.3em; padding-bottom:0em;" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td style="background:#002466; vertical-align:middle; padding:0.4em;" width="30px"><a href="/wiki/File:President_Barack_Obama,_2012_portrait_crop.jpg" class="image"><img alt="President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop.jpg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/President_Barack_Obama%2C_2012_portrait_crop.jpg/70px-President_Barack_Obama%2C_2012_portrait_crop.jpg" width="70" height="91" class="thumbborder" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/President_Barack_Obama%2C_2012_portrait_crop.jpg/105px-President_Barack_Obama%2C_2012_portrait_crop.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/President_Barack_Obama%2C_2012_portrait_crop.jpg/140px-President_Barack_Obama%2C_2012_portrait_crop.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1338" data-file-height="1739" /></a></td>
<th style="text-align:center; background:#002466; width:100%; vertical-align:middle; color:#FFF;"><span style="font-size:0.85em;">This article is part of a series about</span><br />
<span class="vcard"><span class="fn"><strong class="selflink"><span style="color:#FFF;">Barack Obama</span></strong></span></span></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" class="hlist" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.5em 0em;">
<ul>
<li><b><a href="/wiki/Early_life_and_career_of_Barack_Obama" title="Early life and career of Barack Obama">Early life and career</a></b></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="/wiki/Illinois_Senate_career_of_Barack_Obama" title="Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama">Illinois Senate</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/United_States_Senate_career_of_Barack_Obama" title="United States Senate career of Barack Obama">U.S. Senate</a><br /></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="/wiki/Political_positions_of_Barack_Obama" title="Political positions of Barack Obama">Political positions</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="/wiki/Public_image_of_Barack_Obama" title="Public image of Barack Obama">Public image</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Family_of_Barack_Obama" title="Family of Barack Obama">Family</a></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><b>President of the United States</b></p>
<hr />
<p><b>First term</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="/wiki/Barack_Obama_presidential_primary_campaign,_2008" title="Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008">2008 primaries</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Barack_Obama_presidential_campaign,_2008" title="Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008">Obama–Biden campaign</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="/wiki/Presidential_transition_of_Barack_Obama" title="Presidential transition of Barack Obama">Transition</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/First_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama" title="First inauguration of Barack Obama">1st inauguration</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Electoral_history_of_Barack_Obama" title="Electoral history of Barack Obama">Electoral history</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="/wiki/Presidency_of_Barack_Obama" title="Presidency of Barack Obama">Presidency</a>
<ul>
<li>Timeline: <a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_presidency_of_Barack_Obama_(2009)" title="Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2009)">'09</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_presidency_of_Barack_Obama_(2010)" title="Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2010)">'10</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_presidency_of_Barack_Obama_(2011)" title="Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2011)">'11</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_presidency_of_Barack_Obama_(2012)" title="Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2012)">'12</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="/wiki/First_100_days_of_Barack_Obama%27s_presidency" title="First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency">First 100 days</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize" title="2009 Nobel Peace Prize">Nobel Peace Prize</a></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><b>Second term</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="/wiki/Barack_Obama_presidential_campaign,_2012" title="Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012">Re-election campaign</a> (<a href="/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_United_States_presidential_election,_2012" title="International reactions to the United States presidential election, 2012">International reactions</a>)</li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Second_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama" title="Second inauguration of Barack Obama">2nd inauguration</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Obamacare" title="Obamacare" class="mw-redirect">Obamacare</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Presidency_of_Barack_Obama" title="Presidency of Barack Obama">Presidency</a>
<ul>
<li>Timeline: <a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_presidency_of_Barack_Obama_(2013)" title="Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2013)">'13</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_presidency_of_Barack_Obama_(2014)" title="Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2014)">'14</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_presidency_of_Barack_Obama_(2015)" title="Timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama (2015)">'15</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="/wiki/File:Barack_Obama_signature.svg" class="image"><img alt="Barack Obama signature.svg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Barack_Obama_signature.svg/120px-Barack_Obama_signature.svg.png" width="120" height="29" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Barack_Obama_signature.svg/180px-Barack_Obama_signature.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Barack_Obama_signature.svg/240px-Barack_Obama_signature.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="182" data-file-height="44" /></a><br /></p>
<p><a href="/wiki/File:Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg" class="image"><img alt="Seal of the President of the United States.svg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg/40px-Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg.png" width="40" height="40" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg/60px-Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg/80px-Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2424" data-file-height="2425" /></a><br /></p>
<div class="plainlinks hlist navbar mini">
<ul>
<li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Barack_Obama_sidebar" title="Template:Barack Obama sidebar"><span title="View this template">v</span></a></li>
<li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Barack_Obama_sidebar" title="Template talk:Barack Obama sidebar"><span title="Discuss this template">t</span></a></li>
<li class="nv-edit"><a class="external text" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Barack_Obama_sidebar&amp;action=edit"><span title="Edit this template">e</span></a></li>
</ul>
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</td>
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</table>
<p><b>Barack Hussein Obama II</b> (<span class="nowrap"><small><a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">US</a></small> <span class="noexcerpt"><a href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/En-us-Barack-Hussein-Obama.ogg" title="Listen"><img alt="Listen" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Speakerlink-new.svg/11px-Speakerlink-new.svg.png" width="11" height="11" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Speakerlink-new.svg/17px-Speakerlink-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Speakerlink-new.svg/22px-Speakerlink-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="11" data-file-height="11" /></a><sup><span style="color: #00e; font: bold 80% sans-serif; padding: 0 .1em;" class="IPA"><a href="/wiki/File:En-us-Barack-Hussein-Obama.ogg" title="File:En-us-Barack-Hussein-Obama.ogg">i</a></span></sup></span><span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English">/</a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="'b' in 'buy'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">b</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/ə/ 'a' in 'about'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">ə</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/ˈ/ primary stress follows" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">ˈ</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="'r' in 'rye'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">r</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/ɑː/ 'a' in 'spa'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">ɑː</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="'k' in 'kind'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">k</span></a></span> <span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="'h' in 'hi'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">h</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/uː/ long 'oo' in 'food'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">uː</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/ˈ/ primary stress follows" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">ˈ</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="'s' in 'sigh'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">s</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/eɪ/ long 'a' in 'base'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">eɪ</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="'n' in 'nigh'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">n</span></a></span> <span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/ɵ/ variable 1st 'o' in 'omission'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">ɵ</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/ˈ/ primary stress follows" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">ˈ</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="'b' in 'buy'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">b</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/ɑː/ 'a' in 'spa'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">ɑː</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="'m' in 'my'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">m</span></a></span><span class="IPA nopopups"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English"><span title="/ə/ 'a' in 'about'" style="border-bottom:1px dotted">ə</span></a></span><span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English">/</a></span></span>; born August 4, 1961) is the <a href="/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States" title="List of Presidents of the United States">44th</a> and <a href="/wiki/Presidency_of_Barack_Obama" title="Presidency of Barack Obama">current</a> <a href="/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States">President</a> of the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/List_of_African-American_firsts" title="List of African-American firsts">first</a> <a href="/wiki/African_American" title="African American">African American</a> to hold the office. Born in <a href="/wiki/Honolulu,_Hawaii" title="Honolulu, Hawaii" class="mw-redirect">Honolulu, Hawaii</a>, Obama is a graduate of <a href="/wiki/Columbia_University" title="Columbia University">Columbia University</a> and <a href="/wiki/Harvard_Law_School" title="Harvard Law School">Harvard Law School</a>, where he served as president of the <i><a href="/wiki/Harvard_Law_Review" title="Harvard Law Review">Harvard Law Review</a></i>. He was a <a href="/wiki/Community_organizing" title="Community organizing">community organizer</a> in Chicago before earning his <a href="/wiki/Juris_Doctor" title="Juris Doctor">law degree</a>. He worked as a <a href="/wiki/Civil_and_political_rights" title="Civil and political rights">civil rights</a> attorney and taught <a href="/wiki/Constitutional_law" title="Constitutional law">constitutional law</a> at <a href="/wiki/University_of_Chicago_Law_School" title="University of Chicago Law School">University of Chicago Law School</a> from 1992 to 2004. He <a href="/wiki/Illinois_Senate_career_of_Barack_Obama" title="Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama">served three terms</a> representing the 13th District in the <a href="/wiki/Illinois_Senate" title="Illinois Senate">Illinois Senate</a> from 1997 to 2004, <a href="/wiki/Illinois%27s_1st_congressional_district_election,_2000" title="Illinois's 1st congressional district election, 2000" class="mw-redirect">running unsuccessfully</a> for the <a href="/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives" title="United States House of Representatives">United States House of Representatives</a> in 2000.</p>
<p>In 2004, Obama received national attention during his <a href="/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Illinois,_2004" title="United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004">campaign to represent Illinois</a> in the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate">United States Senate</a> with his victory in the March <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democratic Party</a> <a href="/wiki/Primary_election" title="Primary election">primary</a>, his <a href="/wiki/2004_Democratic_National_Convention_keynote_address" title="2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address">keynote address</a> at the <a href="/wiki/2004_Democratic_National_Convention" title="2004 Democratic National Convention">Democratic National Convention</a> in July, and his election to the Senate in November. He began his presidential campaign in 2007 and, after <a href="/wiki/Barack_Obama_presidential_primary_campaign,_2008" title="Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008">a close primary campaign</a> against <a href="/wiki/Hillary_Rodham_Clinton" title="Hillary Rodham Clinton" class="mw-redirect">Hillary Rodham Clinton</a> in 2008, he won sufficient delegates in the <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries,_2008" title="Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2008">Democratic Party primaries</a> to receive the presidential nomination. He then defeated <a href="/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican</a> nominee <a href="/wiki/John_McCain" title="John McCain">John McCain</a> in the <a href="/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2008" title="United States presidential election, 2008">general election</a>, and was <a href="/wiki/First_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama" title="First inauguration of Barack Obama">inaugurated as president</a> on January 20, 2009. Nine months after his election, Obama was named the <a href="/wiki/2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize" title="2009 Nobel Peace Prize">2009 Nobel Peace Prize</a> laureate.</p>
<p>During his first two years in office, Obama signed into law <a href="/wiki/Stimulus_(economics)" title="Stimulus (economics)">economic stimulus</a> legislation in response to the <a href="/wiki/Great_Recession" title="Great Recession">Great Recession</a> in the form of the <a href="/wiki/American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009" title="American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009">American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Tax_Relief,_Unemployment_Insurance_Reauthorization,_and_Job_Creation_Act_of_2010" title="Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010">Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010</a>. Other major domestic initiatives in his first term included the <a href="/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act" title="Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act">Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act</a>, often referred to as "Obamacare"; the <a href="/wiki/Dodd%E2%80%93Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_and_Consumer_Protection_Act" title="Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act">Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act</a>; and the <a href="/wiki/Don%27t_Ask,_Don%27t_Tell_Repeal_Act_of_2010" title="Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010">Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010</a>. In foreign policy, Obama <a href="/wiki/Withdrawal_of_U.S._troops_from_Iraq" title="Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq">ended U.S. military involvement</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a>, increased U.S. troop levels in <a href="/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)" title="War in Afghanistan (2001–present)">Afghanistan</a>, signed the <a href="/wiki/New_START" title="New START">New START</a> arms control treaty with Russia, ordered <a href="/wiki/2011_military_intervention_in_Libya" title="2011 military intervention in Libya">U.S. military involvement in Libya</a> in opposition to <a href="/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi" title="Muammar Gaddafi">Muammar Gaddafi</a>, and ordered the military operation that resulted in the <a href="/wiki/Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden" title="Death of Osama bin Laden">death of Osama bin Laden</a>. In January 2011, <a href="/wiki/United_States_midterm_elections,_2010" title="United States midterm elections, 2010" class="mw-redirect">the Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives</a> as the Democratic Party lost a total of 63 seats; and, after a lengthy debate over federal spending and whether or not to raise the nation's <a href="/wiki/United_States_debt_ceiling" title="United States debt ceiling">debt limit</a>, Obama signed the <a href="/wiki/Budget_Control_Act_of_2011" title="Budget Control Act of 2011">Budget Control Act of 2011</a> and the <a href="/wiki/American_Taxpayer_Relief_Act_of_2012" title="American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012">American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012</a>.</p>
<p>Obama was <a href="/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2012" title="United States presidential election, 2012">reelected president</a> in November 2012, defeating Republican nominee <a href="/wiki/Mitt_Romney" title="Mitt Romney">Mitt Romney</a>, and was <a href="/wiki/Second_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama" title="Second inauguration of Barack Obama">sworn in for a second term</a> on January 20, 2013. During his second term, Obama has promoted domestic policies related to gun control in response to the <a href="/wiki/Sandy_Hook_Elementary_School_shooting" title="Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting">Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting</a>, and has called for full equality for <a href="/wiki/LGBT_community" title="LGBT community">LGBT</a> Americans, while his administration has filed briefs which urged the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court" title="United States Supreme Court" class="mw-redirect">Supreme Court</a> to strike down the <a href="/wiki/Defense_of_Marriage_Act_of_1996" title="Defense of Marriage Act of 1996" class="mw-redirect">Defense of Marriage Act of 1996</a> and California's <a href="/wiki/Proposition_8" title="Proposition 8" class="mw-redirect">Proposition 8</a> as unconstitutional. In foreign policy, Obama ordered <a href="/wiki/2014_American_intervention_in_Iraq" title="2014 American intervention in Iraq" class="mw-redirect">U.S. military involvement in Iraq</a> in response to <a href="/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency_(2011%E2%80%93present)" title="Iraqi insurgency (2011–present)" class="mw-redirect">gains made</a> by the <a href="/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant" title="Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant">Islamic State</a> in Iraq after the <a href="/wiki/Withdrawal_of_U.S._troops_from_Iraq" title="Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq">2011 withdrawal from Iraq</a>, continued the process of <a href="/wiki/Withdrawal_of_U.S._troops_from_Afghanistan" title="Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan">ending U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan</a>, and has sought to <a href="/wiki/Cuban_Thaw" title="Cuban Thaw">normalize</a> <a href="/wiki/Cuba%E2%80%93United_States_relations" title="Cuba–United States relations">U.S. relations with Cuba</a>.</p>
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